The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope continues to operate nominally.
Some highlights:
* The Fermi LAT is setting limits on dark matter candidates that are beginning to constrain models. See http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/news/dark-matter-insights.html
* The LAT detected the highest-energy emission ever seen from a solar flare. See http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/news/highest-energy.html
* Fermi LAT observations of the Cygnus region have uncovered evidence of a cocoon of cosmic-ray production. See http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/news/Cygnus-cocoon.html
* The GBM detected its 1000th gamma-ray burst on September 21.
Data and Software Releases
A new Fermi LAT data product with significantly increased effective area, especially at low energy. These data are suitable for studying transient phenomena such at solar flares and gamma-ray bursts. See: http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/W3Browse/Fermi/fermille.html
Fermi Guest Investigator Program
Cycle 6 Fermi Guest Investigator Proposals will be due on January 18, 2012. (http://Fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/ssc/proposals/). New for Cycle-6: observing time on the Arecibo Radio Telescope and on the VERITAS TeV telescope array will be available.
Fermi E/PO News
Fermi participated in the USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, DC during April 27-29, 2012. The Fermi booth provided an opportunity for thousands of visitors to play the "Black Hole Challenge" as well as meet Alkina, the space alien from Epo's Chronicles.
At the Fermi-LAT Collaboration meeting in September, Fermi E/PO held its first splinter session to discuss ways to get scientists more involved in the E/PO efforts. This is the first event in what is expected to be a regular occurrence in the future, and was a great success!